Guelph mayor calls growing encampment ‘unacceptable’

“Disrespect. Fighting. Drugs. This is unacceptable.”

Mayor Cam Guthrie is fed up with a growing encampment in downtown Guelph.

He said something must be done to prevent tent cities like the one near Quebec and Wyndham Street. It started with one or two tents a couple of months ago and has now grown to more than a dozen.

Guthrie said encampments aren’t just unsafe for those living there but also for the rest of the community.

“We are failing the tourism,” he told CTV News on Monday. “We are failing public realm space. We are failing the businesses.”

Guthrie said there were about 10 encampments in the city in 2022 and that doubled last year.

“If we leave it alone and don’t do anything, sit on our hands, are we going to have 40 next year? 80 the year [after]?”

Royal City Mission, a drop-in centre steps away from the encampment, argues people who live there have no other options.

“It is survival,” said Jenn Vandervlit, the mission’s outreach manager. “They’re trying to meet their own basic needs [while] being out in the elements.”

“These people need help,” Guthrie explained. “We cannot help support them in these types of settings. We need to support them in better settings.”

That would be shelters where, the mayor points out, there’s still room available.

“There are two new shelter systems that have been opened in the last couple of months,” Guthrie added. “They increased [by] over 30, almost 40, beds.”

Those who work closely with the unhoused population said shelters are not ideal for everyone.

“There have been many situations that I’ve looked into where it’s been unsafe for a particular person,” Vandervlit explained.

Royal City Mission said most who live in encampments are doing it out of necessity.

“This is the other solution they have because we don’t have one for them.”

The mayor said he’s looking to find an option that strikes a balance between the needs of the unhoused population and the rest of the community. He hopes to bring the discussion back to city council by the end of the month.

Guthrie was going to put forward a motion to ban encampments in November but later relented. He said he’s still looking at something called “A Safe Public Space” bylaw that would ensure public order in public spaces.